Disabled Facilities Grants
If you or a person living with you is disabled, you may qualify for a Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to adapt your property to enable the disabled person to live as independently as possible.
Who can apply for a DFG?
Owner-occupiers, landlords and a wide range of tenants (including Council tenants) and licensees can apply for a DFG. You can apply if you are the disabled person, the landlord of a disabled person, or someone living with a disabled person.
Who will qualify?
The DFG must be for a person who is registered, or could be registered, as a disabled person. The disability can be caused by physical illness or injury, a major sight, hearing, speech, or mental-health problem, or a learning disability
The Council work closely with East Sussex Social Services and the disabled person will need to undergo an assessment by one of their Occupational Therapists, who will advise us what works are considered necessary and appropriate for their needs.
To arrange for an assessment to be carried out, you will need to contact Social Care Direct on 0845 60 70 191. Should the Occupational Therapist decide that adaptations are required, they will then forward recommendations to the Council.
What works can be carried out:
Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant are available for:
- making it easier to get in to and out of your home;
- making it easier to get to your bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen;
- making it easier to use the toilet, bath and shower;
- making it easier to prepare and cook food;
- improving or installing a suitable heating system to meet the needs of the disabled person,
- helping you control lighting, power and heating;
- making it easier to get around your home to help you care for another person;
- making your home safe for you and other people who live in it; and
- making it easier to get in and out of your garden.
Does the Council have to give a grant?
If recommendations are made by the Occupational Therapist, the Council will then determine whether the works are reasonable and practical. We can refuse a grant if we consider the scheme to be unreasonable or impractical.
Are there conditions attached to the DFG?
If the grant exceeds £5,000, the grant is registered as a local land charge against the property. The charge will last a maximum of 10 years, and is limited to a maximum repayment of £10,000.
If the works involve the installation of specialist equipment a condition will be attached to the grant to recover specialist equipment when it is no longer needed e.g. stairlift, steplift.
How will the grant be calculated?
To ensure that the grant goes to the most needy households, the level of grant is decided by a means test which looks at the income and capital/savings of the disabled person and their spouse or partner. You may have to make a contribution towards the cost of any grant eligible works.
If the grant is for a child under the age of 19, and you receive child benefit for that child, there is no means test assessment for the mandatory DFG.
If you are in receipt of one of the following income-related benefits, you would normally be eligible for a 100% grant:
- Income Support
- Council tax benefit
- Housing benefit
- Guaranteed pension credit
- Income-based job-seekers allowance
- Working tax credit with an annual income of less than £15,050
- Child tax credit with an annual income of less than £15,050
How much is the level of the grant?
The maximum mandatory limit for the grant is £30,000.
If the cost of the works is less than £30,000 and you have been assessed at having a contribution, the amount of grant will be the cost of the works less your assessed contribution.
If the cost of the works exceed £30,000, the amount of grant will be the maximum grant limit less your assessed contribution.
Please note: The Council can only proceed with an application for a DFG should a recommendation be made by the Occupational Therapist and if you start work before the Council approve the application, no grant can be paid in retrospect.
I need some help with all of this?
Our local Home Improvement Agency - Anchor Staying Put works in partnership with the Council and can assist in helping older people and people with disabilities with advice support and assistance. They can act as your agent throughout the grant process and will charge a fee, but this can be included in the grant.
For further information contact:
Property Services Team:
Telephone (01323) 443321
Fax: (01323) 443349
Minicom: (01323) 443331
Email: privatehousing@wealden.gov.uk
Anchor Staying Put:
Telephone (01323) 441013
Social Care Direct:
Telephone 0845 60 80 191
Sensory Impairment Team:
Telephone 01323 466660
To find out more about the adaptation process click here for the Joint Approach to Adaptations information booklet
You can also get more information from a ‘Disabled Facilities Grants’ (07 HC 04616) booklet, available from the Communities and Local Government website.